


So Fate Set Forth

by totallycheesey



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Reddie, oh geez this is a happy but sad one.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-21
Updated: 2018-01-21
Packaged: 2019-03-07 18:32:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13440741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/totallycheesey/pseuds/totallycheesey
Summary: Eddie and Richie kiss.





	So Fate Set Forth

            When Ben struggled up and out of the door to the clubhouse, Richie turned to Eddie and said, “Tell me you’ll put me out of my misery if I start acting that pathetic.”

            “Pathetic? _Ben_?” Eddie thought Ben was one of the strongest kids he’d ever met, aside from maybe Bill. He was smart and a genuinely happy kid, something Derry was sorely missing these days.

            “Just the way he looks at Beverly. He’d kill to stick his tongue down her throat,” Richie said annoyedly.

            “So would Bill,” Eddie offered. “Actually, I think a lot of us would.”

            There was a pause. Richie said, “You would?”

            Eddie felt his lungs tighten. He felt his hand automatically start the search for his inhaler, but forced himself to relax. He decided to be honest. “She’s very pretty.”

            Richie rolled his eyes. “Sure.”

            It was weird, seeing Richie like that. Normally he got along well with everyone in the group. Eddie couldn’t imagine Richie turning down a kiss from Bev. He couldn’t imagine Richie turning down a kiss from anyone. His lips were really kissable, in fact. Always a little parted down the middle. The only part of his face that wasn’t scattered with freckles.

            _Stop acting like a fucking weirdo,_ Eddie thought to himself. He forced his gaze up from Richie’s lips to his eyes, blasted wide and dark behind those cokebottle glasses. He heard himself ask, “Do you not like Bev?”

            Richie looked at Eddie like he was stupid. “Don’t even ask shit like that. She’s awesome.”

            Normally, Eddie would leave it at that. But with how much Richie had told him lately, told all of them lately, about being afraid and his experience with It, Eddie felt that, strangely, he had permission to ask Richie a personal question. Richie, who had once been only a bundle of jokes dressed in glasses and a Hawaiian shirt. Now bitter and scared and maybe even a little sad.

            So Eddie asked, “What’s wrong, Richie?”

            Richie seemed to redden at the mention of his name. _And he’s the one who calls_ me _cute,_ Eddie thought. Another weird thought that he shook off uneasily. Richie’s fingers fluttered on his knees gently, nervously, like birds attached at the wrists. The dirt and dust floated through the square of light let in by the window like little snowflakes that disappeared in the dark. And Richie mumbled, “You can’t tell anyone.”

            “Tell them what?”

            “I’ve never kissed anyone before.” Richie was looking down at his hands, trying to calm them. He looked embarrassed. He looked vulnerable.

            Eddie sighed. “It’s okay, man. Me neither.”

            Looking up, startled, Richie said, “Really?”

            Eddie’s eyebrows knit together. “What did you expect?”

            “But you’re-” Richie cut himself off. After a second, he smiled. He shook his head. “We’re a mess.”

            “I guess,” Eddie agreed.

            “At least we’re a mess together.” In the cool dark of the clubhouse, Eddie suddenly felt warm.

            And the idea struck him. Not like lightning or an eruption or anything giant and wondrous. Just an idea.

            Possibly an embarrassing, horrible idea.

            Eddie said slowly, “I thought of something.”

            “Hm?”

            He tried to explain it subtly. Carefully. “There are two of us.”

            Richie’s face rolled with confusion. Then it smoothed out. “Really?”

            The warm reception made Eddie giddy. His fear lessened. “I think so.”

            Richie was biting his lip. The sight heightened Eddie’s excitement. Richie said quickly, “We tell no one.”

“Fucking obviously,” Eddie answered, grinning.

After a second, Richie said, “Okay,” and took his glasses off, folding them into his pocket. Noticing Eddie’s curiosity, Richie said, “It’s what my dad does before he kisses Mom.”

Eddie nodded and scooted in close. They were criss-crossed across from each other. He said, “You ready?”

“Mm-hm.”

They leaned in.

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            It smelled horrible down there. Eddie’s eyes opened confusedly. Richie was leaning over him, thirty-something years old. He was sobbing.

            So Eddie asked, “What’s wrong, Richie?”

            They were both on the ground, Eddie realized. His back felt sticky. He didn’t want to imagine where exactly he was laying or what he was laying on. _Greywater,_ he thought, then shuddered.

            Richie whimpered, “You’re gonna be okay, Eds. We’re gonna get you out of here.”

            Eddie tried to reach up and wipe away some of Richie’s tears. His arm wouldn’t move. It wasn’t there.

            It wasn’t a scary thing, realizing he would die. Just an absence. Numb.

            “Richie,” he whispered.

            “What?” The desperation in Richie’s eyes was wild and sobbing. He shook violently. Eddie tried to stay under Richie in the sewer. He tried to keep from floating up to the cement ceiling and through the dirt and into the morning. But instead Eddie was thinking of how calmly and naturally they had come together in the clubhouse all those years ago, their lips meeting, the gentle _Oh_ of his heart, _Oh, this is how it’s supposed to be_.

            And it was.

 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            They pulled apart. Eddie, surprisingly, felt no urge to reach for his inhaler. Richie bit his lip set his glasses back on his nose. They were silent.

            Slowly, Eddie said, “I liked that.”

            Richie nodded.

            Eddie smiled and looked at him sideways. “Did I take the words right out of your mouth?”

            “Shut up, Eds.” But Richie was smiling too, a haze over his face like gauze. He looked like he was dreaming. Everything about him was loose and relaxed.

            Eddie understood. He felt the same. “We should do it again sometime.”

            Richie nodded vigorously. “Yes. Fuck yes.”

            Without thinking, Eddie draped Richie in a hug. He mumbled into Richie’s ear, “Is this when I tell you I love you?”

            “I think so,” Richie said, laughing.

            Eddie sat back. “Well, I do. You’re my best friend.”

            “I love you too.”

            It surprised Eddie. Some part of him thought half of this was joking, like everything else was with Richie. But he said, “Thanks.”

            And Richie smiled, stood, and threw open the clubhouse door so they could rise to the world together.

**Author's Note:**

> Man... Man, oh man. Eddie's death made me cry in the middle of the night so I pass this on to you with the hope that you suffer the same :)


End file.
